Shuttle-changing device for looms



Nov. 8, 1938.

I C. VALENTIN ET AL SHUTTLE CHANGING DEVICE FOR LOOMS Filed Feb. 11, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 hue/#00:

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SHUTTLE CHANGING DEVICE FOR LOOMS Filed Feb. 11, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Ava anion" C144 m Patented Nov. 8, 1938 PATENT OFFICE SHUTTLE-CHANGIN G DEVICE FOR LOOMS Carl Valentin, Stuttgart, and Erwin Haller, Schwenningen-on-the-Neckar, Germany Application February 11, 1937, Serial No. 125,184 In Germany February 19, 1936 7 Claims.

This invention relates to shuttle-changing devices for looms, of the kind in which the full shuttle is introduced into the shuttle box from V the front of the slay while the loom is running and the empty shuttle leaves the shuttle box at the back. The device which forms the subject matter of the present invention differs from the known devices of this kind in that, after the change has been initiated, the full shuttle is brought by a shuttle feeder into the receiving position, while the slay is changing from the forward beating-up position to its backward movement, so that the full shuttle in the shuttle feeder has already reached the receiving position when the'slay meets it on its forward movement from the rear reversing position.

' By this means the change can be made with certainty even in looms which run at a high speed. 7

In the shuttle changing devices hitherto known, the transfer of a full shuttle into the shuttle box was effected by a driver or the like which was usually driven by the slay while the latter made its forward movement. Owing to this, the full shuttle is driven out of the magazine against the-empty shuttle in the shuttle box or, if this has already left the shuttle box, against the rear wall of the shuttle box with a speed as great as or greater than that of the slay. A method of this nature, results in subjecting the materials, in particular that of the shuttles, to unpermissibly high strain which causes numerous breakages particularly if, as in the case of heavy shuttles, the momentum is great, and the rotation speed of the loom is high. These disadvantages are obviated by the present invention because in a shuttle changing device constructed according to this invention the full shuttle has already reached the receiving position and come to rest when the slay reaches it on its forward movement. Therefore, the movement of the shuttle feeder which is bringing the full shuttle can be completed when the slay begins its forward movement. I

A shuttle changing device in accordance with the invention is illustrated by way of example inthe accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device;

, Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view of the driving mechanism;

Figure 3 shows the shuttle feeder in the receiving position after the change has been efiected; Figure 4 is a detail view of part of the shuttle box; I

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but with the shuttle feeder released;

Figure 6 is a view showing the changing of the shuttle;

Figure 7 is a view showing how the shuttle is held by the shuttle feeder; and

Figure 8 shows how the shuttle changing device is fitted to the loom.

In the different figures, the same reference numerals are used for designating the same parts of the machine.

Referring at first to Figure 8 especially, 40 represents the frame of a weaving loom, and 4| a slay sword journalled to the frame by trunnion 42. 43 is a crank shaft journalled to frame 40 and carrying a crank arm 44. Arm 44- and trunnion 45 of sword 4| are linked together by a pitman 46.

24 designates a second shaft journalled to frame 40 which is geared or in any other way coupled with the drive of shaft 43 so as to revolve continuously during the operation of the loom. Shaft 24 carries an eccentric 23. A coupling rod 25 connected with the eccentric is linked to a bell crank lever 26. by trunnion 41. Lever 26 is rotatably mounted on a trunnion 48 carried by an arm 49 whichis rigidly mounted to frame 40. A trunnion 50 articulately connects lever 26 with a driving rod 21 serving to actuate the shuttle changing device as set forth hereinafter. The active length of rod 21 is adjustable by means of an intermediate screw connector 5|. The mechanism described so far is common in many weaving looms of known types. Its functioning consists in imparting an up and down movement to the rod 21 when simultaneously rocking the slay sword 4|.

On the upper end of rod 21 a stop 52 is mounted having a coupling notch 3|. A coupling device 53 arranged so as to cooperate with stop 52 is usually out of connection with the rod, that is with stop 52. Device 53 contains an electromagnet 28, the armature 29 of which forms a detent 30 designed to catch into notch 3| of stop 52 when the magnet is energized. Coupling device 53 is linked by a trunnion 54 to an arm 32 rigidly mounted on a shaft I which, according to the following, forms the main driving shaft of the shuttle changing device.

When magnet 28 is energized, rod 21 is coupled with device 53 and, by means of trunnion 54 and arm 32, with shaft I, and thus imparts a rotating movement to this shaft. The elements effecting this function are schematically represented by Figure 2. It will be seen from Figure 2 that when the magnetic coupling is actuated, the shaft l is revolved in the direction indicated in Figure 2 by an arrow, and it may be anticipated that this movement effects the changing of the shuttle.

The magnet 28 of the coupling device 53 is energized by means of an electric weft feeler. The weft feeler is not shown in the drawings because manifold varieties of weft feelers" are well known in the'art and any oneofthese known feelers may be used. The invention proper does not include any structural details of such a feeler.- It therefore is sufiicient to mention that, for instance, such weft feeler closes a circuit as soon as the bobbin in operation-runs empty and a metallic contact finger of the feeler mechanism comes into contact with thelmetallic body of the bobbin. Accordingly, the rod 21 'generally- 'runs idle and is coupled with the driving shaft! of the shuttle changing device only if the bobbin of the shuttle runs empty and is to be replaced byafull-one. 7

The above-mentioned equipment is, as indicated before, known with prior weaving looms, and has been described only in order to show the arrangement and the connection of the shuttle changing device according to the invention with respect to the other parts of a loom. The invention proper is embodied by the shuttle changing device detailed in the following The shuttle changing device is carried. by a support 55 fixed to the frame-40 of the loom. The active elements properof the device are arranged on a frame 56 which is mountedon support 55. The frame 56' carries a magazine 51 having a slot 58 for the storing of a series of shuttles to be successively brought into the shuttle box of the loom. Some of these shuttles are indicated in Figure 3 by broken lines and designated I8.

The driving 'shaftl whose-manner of operation 1 has already been described, is journalled in the frame 55 (Figures 1, 3 and 8). I Rigidly connected to shaft I'isanarm. 2a, forming one element of a lever linkage 2a, 2b, 2c, the three links of which are joined by the trunnions 3 and 4. [Lever 2c of this linkage'is revolvable about a shaft 5 which is revolvably mounted to the frame 56, or more in particular, to an extension of the magazine 58 which is in rigid connection with or forms part of the frame 56 (Figures Land 8). A shuttle feeler 6, (Figure 1) is rotatably mounted on shaft 5 so that the feeler, biased by its own weight and by a spring. not illustrated in the. drawings, tends tomaintain adownward hanging position,

indicated by dash and dot lines in' Figure 1. Feeler 6 is,. however, held in elevated positionby a projection 2| of lever 20, as illustrated by full lines in Figure 1. Q n A shuttle feeder I is. rigidly connected to shaft 5. since this shaft is revolvable with respect ,to frame 55 and to-the other partsro'tatably mounted to the shaft, feeder I as well as feeler B is freely rotatable in relation to lever 20 and to feeler 6, and has, biased by its own weight and by a spring not illustrated, the-tendency to move downward into the position shown in Figure 3 by dash and dot lines. Shuttle feeler 6-is, however, provided'with a projection=22 (Figure 1) which catches under the feeder], and holds it in its position 'of rest, ,indicated-inw-Figure 3 by full lines, so long as the feeler 5 ,maintains, the "position shown in Figure '1' in full'lines.

Mounted to frame 56 is a trunnion 8.rotatably carryingc a locking lever B. This lever is provided with a lateral pin extending througha curved recess l I of the shuttle feeler 6(Figure 1). LOCK-.- ing lever 9 further carries an angle piece I2 (Figures 1 and 3) designed to engage a notch I3 of the shuttle feeder I when both this feeder as well as locking lever 9 have moved into their working position, represented in Figure 1 by dot and dash lines. piece l2 and thereby prevented from undesired forward movements. The movements of locking lever B are controlled by the cam-shaped recess ll of the feeler 5, and hence lever 9 isnormally held in its position, of rest, shown by full lines in Figure 1, so long as feeler '5 maintains its position of rest. 7 5

- The operation of the shuttle changing device so far described is as follows: Upon rotation of shaft 1 in direction of the arrow (Figure l) the lever 4 mechanism 211, 3, 2b, 4, and 2c withdraws the projection 2| from the shuttle feeler 6, thus allowing the feeler to move into the working position, indicated by dot and dash lines in Figure 1. Thereupon shuttle feeder 1 is also released and moves into its working position, shown in the same manner in Figure 1. Simultaneously, lever 9 is moved downward so as to lock feeder 1.

Shuttle feeder 1 is provided with grippers l9v (Figures 3, 6, '7 and 8) which are movablyconnected to the feeder and are biased by springs 31 (Figure '7) When moving into downward position,'the grippers seize the full shuttle I8 lying on the feeding end of'the magazine 51, and carry the shuttle into the changing position (Figure 3)1 The shuttle box of the slay 59'is provided with stationary rails 38 (Figures 3 and 6) and with a movable front rail 2!! for securing the shuttle in the box. The front rail 20 isso shaped as to be pushed upward when the shuttle feeder 1' carrying the full shuttle l8 meets the shuttle box-(Figure 6).

It will be seen from Figure 8 and from the dia gram of Figure 2, corresponding to Figure 8 with respect to the position of the slay sword 4| and the eccentric 23, that after initiating the operation of the shuttle changing device by energizing magnet 28, the movement of shaft 1 andaccord In this position feeder I is locked by angle ingly the above-mentionedoperation of the device occurs while theslay sword is moving back ward, that is, to the left in Figure 8. r The shuttle feeder 1 is held and locked in its working position when the slay reverses its rocking movement and meetsthe feeder while coming into the active beating position. r u 1 In order to ensure that the shuttle feeder Works as slowly as possible, it is prefera'ble'to allow the movement of the shuttle feeder 'lto extend. over the entire duration of thebackwardmovement of the slay and over thepart of its forward movement, the shuttle having already arrived at the receiving position and the feeder beinglocked when the slay meets the shuttle on its forward beating movement. I I

Further details of the shuttle box will beseen from Figures 4 and 5, both showing a view from a direction at right angles to the view represented by Figures 1, 3 and 8. I

. I '65 A tongue M which controls a stop 16 against the action of a spring I5 is located in the bottom of the shuttle boxas shown in Figure 4. This tongue is pressed downwardly as the shuttleQl'i owing to the fact that the shuttle to be exchanged has not properly entered the shuttlebox, achange which has been initiated does not take place, ibe-T cause in the position indicated in Figure 4, the shuttle feeler 6 strikes against the stop [6 and is therefore driven back by the slay which is making its forward movement. The locking lever 9 which is controlled by the pin l and the cam l l of the shuttle feeler 6 is thereby moved out of theway, so that the angle piece [2 is lifted out of the notch l3 and the shuttle carrier 1 is no longer locked. I

When, after the change has beeninitiated. the empty shuttle I! to be exchanged has properly entered the shuttle box (see Figure 6), owing to the forward movement of the slay, it meets the full shuttle I8 which is in the receiving position and has raised the guide rails of the shuttle box owing to the slope provided on the front guide rail 20, and the empty shuttle is forced out of the shuttle box by the full shuttle. When the slay 59 begins its backward movement the front guide rail 20 of the shuttle box is lowered so that the position indicated in Figure 3 is assumed and, owing to the backward movement of the slay, the full shuttle is withdrawn from the grippers vI9 of the shuttle feeder I and carried away by the box. 1

In order to bring the shuttle feeder 1 again into its original position after the changing operation has been completed, the shaft l is moved in the direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow by means of the eccentric mechanism illustrated in Figures 2 and 8. By this means the lever mechanism 2a, 2b, 2c is positively returned into its original position. The projection 2| of the lever 20 presses against the shuttle feeler 6 which in turn first effects the above described unlocking of the shuttle feeder 1 and then, on moving further, returns the shuttle feeder 1 to its original position.

We claim: i

1. In a weaving loom having a slay and a shuttle box on said slay, the combination of a device for changing the shuttle in said shuttle box, said device containing movable shuttle feeding means and a drive mechanism, a coupling arranged between said drive mechanism and said feeding means, controlling means associated with said coupling for actuating said coupling in order to effect a shuttle change, connections between said drive mechanism and said slay to cause said feeding means to move into shuttle-changing position during the backward movement of said slay, and a locking device for locking said feeding means in said shuttle-changing position, said locking device being operatively connected with said shuttle-changing device.

2. With a weaving loom having a slay and a shuttle box on said slay, the combination of a device for changing the shuttle in said shuttle box, said device comprising a magazine for full shuttles to be successively inserted into said shuttle box, a movable shuttle feeder for transporting a full shuttle from said magazine into the path of said shuttle box, an actuating mechanism for operating said feeder, driving means for said mechanism, a coupling arranged between said driving means and said mechanism, connections between said driving means and said slay to cause said feeder to start moving into shuttlechanging position during the backward stroke of said slay and to finish said movement during the following forward stroke of said slay, a looking device operatively associated with said actuating mechanism for locking said feeder in said shuttle-changing position, and releasable shuttle holding means arranged on said shuttle box so as to be released when meeting'a shuttle held by said feeder, whereby the shuttle to be changed is pushed out of said box by the shuttle of said feeder.

3. With a weaving loom having a slay, a drive for said slay, and a shuttle box arranged on said slay, the combination of a device for changing the shuttle in said shuttle box, said device comprising a magazine for full shuttles to be successively inserted into said shuttle box, a shuttle feeder for transporting a full shuttle from said magazine to said shuttle box, said feeder being arranged so as to move said full shuttle into the path of said box, a locking member for locking said feeder in its shuttle-changing position, a shuttle feeler operatively coupled with said looking member for moving said member into and out of locking position, a releasable stop disposed on said slay so as to come into the path of said shuttle feeler and arranged to be released in dependence upon the shuttle in said shuttle box being in proper position for change, said shuttle feeler being adapted to prevent when struck by said stop said locking member from locking said feeder, an actuating mechanism for operating said feeder and said shuttle feeler, driving means for operating said mechanism, a coupling to be actuated for effecting the change of a shuttle, said coupling being arranged between said driving means and said mechanism, connections between said driving means and said drive of said slay to cause said mechanism to start moving said shuttle feeler and said feeder into shuttlechanging position during a backward movement of said slay, and releasable shuttle holding means on said shuttle box arranged to be released when meeting a shuttle held by said feeder in said shuttle-changing position, whereby the shuttle to be changed is pushed out of the box by the shuttle held by said feeder and said latter shuttle is caught by said holding means.

4. With a weaving loom having a slay and a shuttle box on said slay, the combination of a device for changing the shuttle in said shuttle box, said device comprising a magazine for full shuttles, a shuttle feeder movably arranged for carrying a shuttle from said magazine into the path of said box, a mechanism for operating said feeder, connections between said mechanism and said slay to cause said feeder to start moving during a backward movement of said slay, shuttle holding means associated with said shuttle box and arranged for releasing the shuttle in said box at the end of the forward movement of said slay and for catching the shuttle held by said feeder in the path of said box, and means for locking said feeder in its shuttle-changing position in dependence upon the shuttle of said box being in proper position for a change.

5. With a weaving loom having a slay and a shuttle box on said slay, the combination of shuttle-changing means comprising a shuttle magazine, a shuttle feeder arranged for carrying a shuttle from said magazine into the path of said box, a mechanism for operating said feeder, a connection between said mechanism and said slay to move said feeder into shuttlechanging position during a backward movement and part of the following forward movement of the slay, a controllable coupling arranged in said connection, releasable shuttle holding means on said box arranged for releasing'the shuttle to be changed at the end of said forward movement of said slay and for catching the shuttle held by the feeder in said shuttle-changing position, a

locking device associated with said mechanism for securing said feeder in its shuttle-changing position during operation of said shuttle holding means, and means associated with said mechanism for releasing said locking device and for returning said feeder into its starting position.

6. With a Weaving loom having a slay, a drive for reciprocating said slay, and a shuttle box on said slay, the combination of meansfor changing the shuttle in said shuttle box, said means comprising a magazine for full shuttles to be successively inserted into said shuttle box, a shuttle feeder arranged for. transporting a full shuttle from said magazine intothe path of said shuttle box, a locking member for locking said feeder in its shuttle-changing position, a shuttle feeler operatively coupled with said locking memher for moving said member into and out of look-- ing position, a releasable stop arranged on said slay in the path of said shuttle'feeler, a movable element operatively connected withsaid stop for releasing said stop, said element being located on said shuttle box and in the path of the shuttle of said box in, order to .eifect the release of said stop in dependence upon said shuttle being in proper position for change, said shuttle feeler being arranged to prevent when struck by said stop said locking member from looking said feeder, a mechanism for operating said feeder and said shuttle feeler, driving means for operating said mechanism,.a coupling arranged between sa id driving means and said mechanism and being designed to be actuated by a weft feeler, said driving means being operatively connected with said drive so as to cause said mechanism to start moving said shuttle feeder into shuttle-changing position during a backward movement of said slay, shuttle holding means on said shuttle box adapted for releasing the shuttle to be changed While catching the shuttle held by said feeder in said shuttle-changing position, and

,means for resetting into starting position said feeder, said shuttle feeler and said locking member after completion of the change.

7. With a weaving loom having'a slay, a drive for reciprocating said slay, and a shuttle box on said slay, the combination of means for changing the shuttle in said shuttlebox, said means comprising a' support fixed to said loom, a shuttle magazine arranged on said support, a shuttle feeder pivotally mounted on said support and ar ranged for transporting ashuttle from said. magazine into the path of said shuttle box, a

shuttle feeler pivotally mounted on said support so as to be movable from a position of rest into the path of said box, a lever mechanism arranged on said supportfor moving said shuttle feeler 7 into said position of rest and for normally maintaining said shuttle feeler in said position, coupling means provided on saidshuttle feeler for movingsaid feeder out of the path of said box and for normally maintaining said feeder in its position of rest, a locking member operatively coupled with said shuttle feeler'for temporarily locking said feeder when said feeder is in shuttlechanging position in the path of said box, in combination with a stop on said shuttle box arranged to a weft feeler, said operating means beingconnected with said drive so as to effect said transporting movement of said shuttle feeder during a backward movement of said slay, and shuttle holding means on said shuttle box arranged for releasing the shuttle to be changed'and catching the shuttle held by said feeder in the path of said box.

CARL VALENTIN. ERWIN HALLER. 

